Chapter 16

My mouth dropped open, my lips searching for a name but never finding it. I settled for taking the textbook back and placing it on my lap with the other one.

"What? No 'thank you'?" the green-eyed figure asked. I had never heard him speak before, and his voice was deeper than I had imagined. Deeper, darker, more mesmerizing. He could build an army on his words. His lips moved in perfect formation of the sounds.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I mean, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. "Miranda."

"And you are?" I asked.

"Oh, for the love of all the Triad." A smirk spread across his lips. "Don't tell me you don't remember me."

"I remember you," I said. "Just not your name."

"I suspected so." He nodded and pushed back his hood, exposing his head of dark hair. "Well, if I must. My name is Thane Flynn."

"Thane Flynn," I whispered.

Images and sounds and memories all hit me at once, nearly crushing the breath from my lungs. It was as if I remembered everything at once and couldn't process all of it. I sucked in a breath and let it out, shivering. "Is this what happens when they try to reintroduce people who were erased?" I asked.

"So they actually did erase me," Thane mused. "That's interesting, because all of the infractions you've watched me commit recently are far worse than the one they must have erased me for."

"What was it?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Thane said, shaking his head. "You might remember someday, but not now."

"Fine." I crossed my arms. "So maybe you can tell me why I shouldn't just report you to the System's Officers right now."

"Because you remember me," Thane said. "And no one else does. That's why they can't find me. Even the System has no idea who I am anymore."

"I don't understand."

He inhaled slowly. "When they took me into Hex years ago for the infraction they claimed I had committed, they erased everyone's memories of me. Or so I'm told," he added, looking pointedly at me. "Then I escaped."

"You escaped imprisonment?" I repeated, and he pressed a finger to my lips, silencing me.

"Miranda, I need you to do me a favor," Thane said.

"And what favor is that?" I asked, suspicion creeping into my voice.

Thane looked me in the eye, and the sharp familiarity of his face crashed over me again. His mouth quirked into a smile and he formed his next sentence with such precision that for a second I couldn't concentrate on what it was he said.

"Trust me."

Not giving me a chance to respond, he turned and walked away. I looked over my shoulder to watch him go, but somehow, he had already vanished.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the bench. "Thane Flynn," I whispered aloud, wondering if the name would bring the System's Officers down upon me. But nothing happened. The park around me stayed silent but for the wind in the trees.

#

Chancellor Nero Randall didn't return on the networks the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. I knew that if I wanted to, I could go straight to the System's Officers and tell them that their black-clothed man had been in the park in the academic district yesterday. I could tell them he was Thane Flynn and describe every aspect of his face in detail, from his forest eyes to his perfectly symmetrical mouth.

But I didn't. Something kept me from doing so, some invisible pull within me that said I had to stay back. Something that had made me feel a sense of familiarity and unbidden trust when I was with him, though I knew he was a criminal.

And Thane's words: You remember me. And no one else does.

If he was right, how was it possible that I could recall memories that the System had forced me to forget? And why did I remember him? What had he done?

I went to class after class, tried to focus on the work that our instructors handed us. My mind stayed on my conversation with Thane. I wondered how I'd ever be able to keep it from Kalle, or Cas, or my family.

Because there was no way I would tell my family. It was one thing for Kalle and me and the others to look at each other at lunch and mutter curses because we'd all seen the hooded criminal and still remembered him. It was another to tell my family of my continued encounters with that criminal.

Kalle had been doing all the talking in the cafeteria that afternoon. She complained about the homework, moving from her first class to her last class in order. I pretended to listen while watching Shiri and Tristan on the other side of the table. The two of them kept looking down at the table, at each other, at each other's hands.

"You okay, Mir?" Kalle asked suddenly, tapping her elbow against my arm.

"Yeah," I lied. "I just got distracted for a second."

"Do you have a lot of homework, too?" she asked.

I nodded. "It's kind of amazing how fast they threw it all at us."

"No kidding." Kalle glanced up at the clock. "Lunch is almost over . . . I'm going to go back to class. Anyone want to come?"

"I'll come," Cas said, standing up from his seat.

After a second of silence, I figured I didn't really have any other option. "I'll come, too."

"Let's go, then," Kalle said, beginning to walk toward the exit. I pushed back my chair and followed, throwing a glance over my shoulder at Tristan, Shiri, and Elen, who still sat at our table.

I shot a pointed glance at Kalle, hoping she'd remember our conversation about Tristan and Shiri, but in response she simply kept her eyes forward. I could see the muscles in her jaw clenching. She understood, but she wouldn't discuss it now.

Right. Not with Cas here.

I wondered if she'd walk home with me after classes ended. Or if I'd have to pick up my sister. Or if I'd take a detour and sit on that bench in the park like yesterday, pretending I wasn't waiting for Thane Flynn.

I didn't have to lie to myself. I was pretty sure I knew which option I would choose.